Nation offered tightened ties

Vietnam is targeted by Russia, Denmark, Ukraine and Bangladesh for bigger cooperation in a range of sectors.

This month will see official visits to Vietnam by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the 7th, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt on the 7th-8th and Ukraine Prime Minister Nhikolai Azarov on the 14th-16th. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit took place on the 2nd-4th.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said the first three prime ministers would hold talks with their counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung and meet with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Truong Tan Sang and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. Meanwhile, Hasina had talks with Dung and paid courtesy visits to Trong and Sang.

Medvedev’s visit is aimed to strengthen the two nations’ comprehensive strategic partnership forged in July, 2012. Vietnam-Russia cooperation in energy, investment, trade, military techniques, and education and training will top the agenda.

They will also discuss an action plan for the two nations’ cooperation in 2013 and specific tax incentives for establishing Vietnam-Russia joint ventures operating in aquatic and wood product processing, garments and textile sectors, in Russia’s Siberia and Far East regions.

The two nations will also ink an inter-governmental agreement on peace-oriented space research cooperation.

The MoFA reported that Vietnam-Russia’s two-way turnover reached nearly $2 billion last year and $1.77 billion in this year’s first nine months. It is expected that the turnover will touch $3-3.5 billion this year, $7 billion by 2015 and $10 billion by 2020. By late September, 2012, Vietnam had 82 Russian investment projects registered at $919 million.

Meanwhile, Schmidt’s visit will be to consolidate the Vietnam-Denmark strategic cooperation in coping with climate change and energy and green development, coined in November, 2011.

It is expected that an agreement on low carbon transformation will be clinched during the Danish premier’s visit.

Solutions for lifting cooperation and two-way trade, and Danish potential energy and beverage investment projects in Vietnam will also be chewed over. Besides, they will also discuss Danish official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam in the coming time.

Vietnam-Denmark two-way trade turnover stood at $421 million last year and $287.8 million in this year’s first seven months. By August, 2012 Vietnam had 101 Danish investment projects registered at $625 million. Denmark has also granted $1 billion in ODA to Vietnam since 1972, mainly on infrastructure, poverty reduction and sustainable development as well as coping with climate change.

According to the MoFA, as for Azarov’s visit to Vietnam, which is the first by a Ukraine prime minister, Ukraine wants to enlarge its diplomatic ties in the Asia-Pacific region in which Vietnam played an important role. Azarov and the Vietnamese leaders would discuss measures to boost the two nations’ comprehensive cooperation founded in November, 2011, especially in the economic, trade, investment and national security and defense sectors.

The two sides will clinch an agreement on phytosanitary cooperation and a joint communiqué will be released. Vietnam-Ukraine two-way trade turnover reached $300 million in 2011 and $175 million in this year’s first seven months. Ukraine has only four investment projects in Vietnam now, with total registered capital of $24 million.

Meanwhile, Hasina’s visit, which was her first to Vietnam, notably saw Bangladesh officially recognise Vietnam as having a full market-based economy.

Besides vowing to strengthen political, economic and investment cooperation, Hasina and the Vietnamese leaders pledged for solutions to raise bilateral trade turnover to $5 billion over the next five years.

The two sides also inked four cooperation agreements on agricultural and trade promotion cooperation and scientific and technological development. A Vietnam-Bangladesh Enterprise Association was also established on this occasion.